


Becoming

by humanbean



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Gen, Male-Female Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-29
Updated: 2016-03-29
Packaged: 2018-05-29 21:31:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6394639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/humanbean/pseuds/humanbean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Hogwarts AU that absolutely no one asked for, or snapshots of Ainsley Hayes and Sam Seaborn every year between 10 and 17.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Becoming

Sam Seaborn. 10 years old. Can sort of make the books float a little with his mind like Matilda does. Gets 99/100 words right on his spelling test. Everyone tells him he’s a genius, but all he can think about is the one word he gets wrong. He wrote the word down correctly in his spelling book; he should’ve been able to spell that one too. If he’d only focused more…

Ainsley Hayes. 10 years old. Has read all the books in her dad’s library, even the ones he didn’t want her to. Starts practicing spells younger than either of her brothers did. Once used a word that her mom had to look up to understand. Her mom caresses her face and says “There’s my pretty girl” about twice a day, and her dad says “You’re so helpful” every time she brings him his wand. No one ever calls her smart. She doesn’t much think of it.

Sam Seaborn. 11 years old. When the hat sits on his head, it mutters to itself about Hufflepuff and Sam argues with it. He’s a Ravenclaw, isn’t he? That’s where the smart people go. Sam isn’t loyal, or fair, or kind, or hardworking. He’s just smart. That’s all he is.

Ainsley Hayes. 11 years old. Spent the summer knitting _yellow_ socks, and is wearing a pair right now under her robe. The hat barely sits on her head before it announces, “Ravenclaw!”, and she’s too surprised to do anything but find a seat.

Sam Seaborn. 12 years old. Prefers to read books from the sixth form section of the library, but a title over in the restricted section has just caught his interest. Gets to the book without anyone seeing, but it starts _screaming_ when he opens it, and it’s almost a _relief_ when the librarian comes to take it away.

Ainsley Hayes. 12 years old. Sees a Hufflepuff boy from her year getting lectured by the librarian, blushing and fidgeting like he’s never been in trouble in his life. The book Mrs Fiderer is waving in her hand has the red labels of the restricted section on it, and Ainsley immediately feels that this Hufflepuff boy is someone after her own heart. Maybe she can show him how to get the books without being caught.

Sam Seaborn. 13 years old. Is _sure_ he’s better at Charms than Ainsley Hayes from Ravenclaw, but she refuses to see it that way. One day, she meets him at the classroom door and plants a kiss on his cheek. He can’t focus for the rest of the class period, and he thinks that’s definitely cheating.

Ainsley Hayes. 13 years old. Doesn’t always stay on topic when there’s _so much to learn about._ Won’t outright _ask_ Sam for help, but they sit at the same table in the library every day, so if she copies some of his study habits sometimes, nobody has to know.

Sam Seaborn. 14 years old. Is amazed how quickly you can learn to flinch at certain words. Knows Ainsley didn’t mean to demean anyone when she let it slip out of her mouth, but he’d never heard her use the word before and now he has.

Ainsley Hayes. 14 years old. Is in the library late after hours, trying to find a spell that can erase certain words from her vocabulary. Doesn’t think she’ll ever forget, though, the way Sam looked at her like she’d struck him.

Sam Seaborn. 15 years old. Sometimes goes to the Ravenclaw common room and solves the eagle-knocker’s riddle, when he has something important to consult Ainsley about. No one is particularly surprised to see him anymore. He should’ve been a Ravenclaw, anyway- he’s just smart. Nothing nobler than that.

Ainsley Hayes. 15 years old. Can’t get a gosh-darned night of sleep anymore, since Sam figured out he could get into the common room himself; now he comes and gets her every time he has a theory to try out or a point to argue over. She wonders that he’s never taught her how to get into the Hufflepuff common room- sure, she’s a Ravenclaw, and a pretty smart one at that, but she wonders what it would be like in there, sometimes.

Sam Seaborn. 16 years old. Wants to be Headmaster of the school someday. Professor Bartlet is wonderful, and brilliant, but even great things can be made better. If he can make the tiniest impact on how the Wizarding World’s kids grow up, after all, it’ll be worth it.

Ainsley Hayes. 16 years old. Wants to be an Auror. A seventh-year Gryffindor boy asks her what a tiny pretty little thing like her could even do in law enforcement. She wants very badly to punch him, but she’s just going to have to settle for becoming an Auror instead.

Sam Seaborn. 17 years old. Has just been named Head Boy. Wears his badge on the right side of his robes- it’s only proper. Doesn’t agree with Ainsley that leading should only be done by example, but a second year Gryffindor girl stands up to a bully with some well-reasoned words and a better placed hex, and she tells him “It’s what Ainsley would have done,” and Sam feels just a little bit proud, maybe.

Ainsley Hayes. 17 years old. Has just been named Head Girl. Wears her badge on the left side of her robes as it is _meant_ to be worn, thank you very much. Thinks Sam is a bit of a softy, but when she catches him hugging first years who miss their parents, or stepping in to defend kids whose bullies are bigger and more skilled than they are, she wonders if she doesn’t like him that way.

 

 


End file.
